Harry Potter Quickies
by sgt-phoenix
Summary: I randomly select from categories that determine how many characters are to be used, the names of them, a location within the Harry Potter universe, and a word count cap to put together a scenario to form a series of unconnected short stories. Genre, characters, contexts, randomness and rating will vary from story to story and I hope you enjoy them all.
1. Beggars can't be choosers

Harry Potter Quickies: Installment 1

Location: Diagon Alley

Character(s): Ginny Weasley and Lavender Brown

Word count: 500 words

Beggars can't be choosers

"Hello Lavender," Ginny said catching her eye as she passed her by in Flourish and Blotts. Lavender looked at her and then almost immediately glanced dead at her hair straightaway.

"Weasley?" she said confusedly as if searching her memory for an exact name. She blinked suddenly. "Ginny!" she said clasping Ginny's hand in both of hers. "Hi!"

"Looking for your school books too are you?" she said discreetly taking her hand back.

"My mum and dad are tailoring my robes at Madam Malkin's and sent me off to browse around. I'm sooo excited to start term this year. How about you?"

"As long as Harry doesn't drag us headfirst into more obvious danger," she chortled. "So Lavender, how was your summer?"

"Please, call me Lav. All my friends do."

She blinked. "Okay…Lav. How was your summer?"

"I flew in a parade, the one going over Bristol a month ago?" She sighed in content. "It was so much fun. My only third time on a broom really, my dad was practically leading me around. I saw one of your brothers there too, I'm sure."

"I couldn't tell you which one. But, keep at it. Keep practicing and you could possibly be one of our aides on the team or something."

"Yes, maybe. Promise to show me how you do your hair?"

"Sure," she said a bit warily trying taper off conversation by tuning her attention back to the shelves.

"Ginger is such an attractive color of hair," Lavender went on. "You're so lucky it's such a strong gene that runs in your family, I'd kill for hair like this."

Ginny instinctively ducked underneath her as she reached for the top of her head. "Yes, well, I can hear my mother calling for me, we're nearly done here. I'll see you at school." Ginny tried to excuse herself, only for Lavender to grasp her hand.

"Could you just do one thing for me Gin-Gin, please?"

"Yes?" she said trying not to grimace at being called that.

"Please, please, please get in a good word about me?" she said clasping her hands desperately.

"To who, exactly?"

"Your brother."

She furrowed her brow. "But…I thought…" She sighed. "Which one?"

"Percy? I've always fancied the authoritive, bookish type."

Ginny glanced about to anywhere else in the bookstore besides Lavender, happening to catch sight of a stack of Gilderoy Lockhart's old autobiographies marked for clearance underneath a coating of dust. "Percy's…with Penelope, yes—Clearwater."

"Oh. Fred and George?"

"Fred and—the both of them?" she said wrinkling her nose.

"Well one doesn't come without the other, right? They always make me laugh."

"I don't think they'd be into that."

"Oh." She paused. "Ron?"

Ginny sighed again, rolling her eyes this time. "Sure."

Lavender squealed, jumping up and down making her brown curls bounce about her face.

"Calm down, we're not eight, Lavender."

"Oh sorry. I just can't help it. Oh, Ron." With that Lavender curtsied away, undoubtedly daydreaming about her newest obsession.


	2. Sanctuary

Harry Potter Quickies: Installment 2

Location: Room of Requirement

Character(s): Sirius Black, Alastor Moody

Word count: 500 words

Context: A fifth-year Sirius and a seventh-year Moody run into each other in the Room of Requirement.

Sanctuary

Sirius caught his breath as the hidden passage dissolved back into the wall behind him just in time, feeling the presence of half the Gryffindor house passing by. The rush of endorphins bouncing around in his brain was chased by a wave of relief, a smirk spreading on his face.

They had been trying to get back at him and the Marauders for days now. Setting off that magical charge filled with an experimental potion containing toad mucus they planted in the common room had pigmented everyone's skin a sickly green. It probably wasn't the most carefully thought out prank they've ever done.

"Oh, but it was totally worth it!" he hissed excitedly. "Got Frank back, that's for sure." He sighed happily. "Poor thing for Wormtail who hadn't been involved, but at least Prongsey would agree with me."

He pushed away from the wall. Here he was yet again, in this build-a-room lounge the Marauders made that he hadn't visited in a while. He would probably be spending a lot of time here over the next few weeks. He passed by the line of hammocks each suspended between two engorged, slanted broomsticks crisscrossed near the left of the room and glanced across to another, nearly startled when he saw a leg dangling down the side.

"Don't get too close," a gruff voice said. "I like my skin very much the way it is, thank you."

"Oi, Moony—I mean Moody," Sirius cursed under his breath. "How goes there, mate?"

"What do you want, Sirius?" he practically growled.

"Well I can only imagine that the Room of Requirement would offer a hand to me if I required a need for a room to be in."

No answer.

Sirius sighed, leaning an elbow on a statue head of a comically depicted gargoyle. "See here's the thing, Frank tried to make a fool of me James earlier, in front of Alice of course, right, and a couple dozen other blokes just happened to get caught in the crossfire—which was completely not _our_ problem."

He stared at the sole of Moody's boot as he laid there without response.

"They might as well be coming after my mates and I with torches and pitchforks."

Still nothing.

"So the Prefects are all talk, huh?"

"See here's the thing, Sirius," Moody began lazily "I'm two years your senior who's ready to leave and really couldn't care less about your stupid pranks."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "So are you going to Headmaster Dippet or not?"

He shrugged. "My skin's not green. What's Dippet going to do I can't?"

"I don't know, expel me? Make me clear rat droppings from the dungeon floors? With my fingernails?"

"You're daft, Black, but not that daft. You'd be gone by now. Course if I were headmaster I'd hang the lot of you by your thumbs in the dungeons till Christmas. Beats war," he said with a great sigh.

Sirius gave a smug little smile. "I always knew you were mad."


	3. Babysitting

Harry Potter Quickies: Installment 3

Location: Kings Cross Station

Character(s): Fred & George Weasley, Bill Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Severus Snape, Slytherin OC

Word count: 200 words

Context: Snape spends the day with his hands full, alive and well, and Fred is alongside George as it should be.

Babysitting

"Hey," George said getting Fred's attention, "is that who I think it is?"

Bill glanced further along, looking over heads as they walked.

"Longbottom, isn't it?"

"Yeah, Neville!" George shouted clapping Neville on the shoulder as they approached platform 10, who looked just as surprised to see them. "Bill's down here visiting, what're you doing here?"

"Trying to sneak back into Hogwarts via the express to surprise everyone?"

"Doesn't end well, take it from us."

"They've already tried it," Bill said.

"No, no, I have a teacher's conference down in London, for a new Herbology practice," Neville said. "Taking the train relaxes me."

"Hey?" George said suddenly, looking over Fred's shoulder. "Who's that?"

Fred looked back to see a cloaked figure nearly gliding on the platform across them, with a smaller girl in tow.

"Looking pretty dodgy's who they are," Fred said.

"Uncle Sev," the girl asked, "can we go—"

"That's _Professor_ _Snape_ to you," he said lowly, deliberately and without stopping.

"We're not in school," Mary said nearly tripping as she struggled to keep up.

Snape growled with malice under his breath, "If the Malfoys have another kid I'll regret not having venom eternally poisoning my corpse."


	4. Old-Fashioned

Harry Potter Quickies: Installment 4

Location: Shrieking Shack

Character(s): Draco Malfoy, Ollivander

Word count: 100 words

Context: Malfoy brings a visitor along for an interesting interrogation.

Old-fashioned

Ollivander remembered nothing before being knocked out from behind in his shop, aside from his head being bagged. When he awoke he was in a shabby, windowless room faced with a familiar wand. Hawthorn…and Unicorn hair.

"No, wait!" he gasped.

Draco made no move to proceed, but did not lower his wand.

"Unyielding. Your wand. I can make you a new one, fashioned from the very tree encasing this place."

Draco scowled. "You can make no wand better than the one I hold." His hand quivered, unable to utter the curse lingering on his tongue. "Where's the Elder Wand?"


	5. Anxious

Harry Potter Quickies: Installment 5

Location: House Common Room

Character(s): Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Gryffindor OC, Barty Crouch

Word count: 200 words

Context: Ron tries to take Hermione's mind off the upcoming second task in the Triwizard Tournament.

Anxious

"Hermione?" Ron called. She didn't answer. "Hermione?"

"What?" she mumbled looking into the fire.

"I have this weird crick in my neck. Mind loosening it up for me?"

"Try Episkey," she sighed into her knees.

"I'll do it, Ron," Casey Glitch said next to him, "She doesn't seem to be in the mood."

Ron looked back and forth between him and Hermione's back. "No offence, but I'd rather have Hermione do it."

"Nonsense, it'll only take a second—"

"Look, I'm cured!" he shouted hastily, moving to sit next to Hermione on the rug.

He straightened his long legs out in front of him as Hermione continued to stare ahead.

"I know you're worried about Harry," he said. "But, you heard what Mad-Eye said."

"Which was what, exactly?"

"How should I know, he's mad."

Hermione chuckled.

"But, he's brilliant. And if he says so, Harry should be fine." He snorted at the next thought that came to mind. "I mean, imagine if Krum won—"

"Or Fleur," she said with a very wry smile aimed at him.

"Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger?" a curt voice said.

"Mr. Crouch," Hermione said almost immediately, surprised at his sudden appearance in the fireplace.


	6. Prank'd

Harry Potter Quickies: Installment 6

Location: Diagon Alley

Character(s): Fred & George Weasley, Hedwig

Word count: 200 words

Context: Fred and George are working in the store, getting an unexpected visitor.

Prank'd

The Weasley twins trekked up the stairs to their flat in their extravagant costume getups, disrobing them as they went.

"Ahh, another action-packed day," Fred said collapsing into the armchair in the far corner of the room.

"Think we should close shop early tomorrow and head up to visit mum?" George asked loosening the brim of his webbed Sorcerer's hat.

There was a sudden tap on the glass window.

"Hey, look who it is!"

Sharp yellow eyes pierced from a stubby silhouette perched on the windowsill, staring at George. "Haven't seen you around here before."

"She belongs to Harry," Fred said unraveling the small scroll tied to her leg, unleashing a cascading wave of spiders. He waved his wand and swept them away. "Wishes us a Happy Halloween."

"That's his idea of a prank…?" George trailed off looking at his brother.

"This should do." Fred plucked a feather from Hedwig's snowy coat while distracting her with a treat, tying it to their own owl and sending him off through the window.

An hour later they received a smoking Phoenix red envelope via a common barn owl, that unfurled into a wide mouth.

"WHERE'S MY OWL YOU THREE-TOED THIEVING GITS?!"


	7. Caught Up

Harry Potter Quickies: Installment 7

Location: Random Classroom

Character(s): Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, Oliver Wood, Percy Weasley, Lee Jordan

Word count: 200 words

Context: Wood's looking for Harry to brief him on some Quidditch stuff while he and Ginny try to capture some alone time after classes are over.

Caught Up

The moment their lips touched, a chill ran through Harry and came out the other side of Ginny, materializing into an ethereal Hawk patronus before vanishing into thin air. Before either of them could react, the door behind them was suddenly pushed open.

"Oh, sorry," a voice said from the other side. "Harry—Weasley?"

Harry looked back to see Oliver Wood looking down at the two of them, Harry hovering awkwardly over Ginny so as not to crush her.

"Sorry, I—hey!"

Someone pushed Wood in further (ha), poking their own head in over his shoulder. It was Percy. He looked accusingly to Harry and Ginny.

"It's nearly curfew, what're you two doing in here?"

Before Harry could say anything, the two lurched in further, collapsing into a small dogpile on top of them. On the very top was Lee Jordan. He looked down to see a flustered Quidditch Captain, a fuming Percy and a rather embarrassed Harry and Ginny. There was a sly twinkle in his eye as he slipped back out into the corridor.

Ginny summoned what must have been unimaginable strength and forced all three boys off her, bolting after him. "Please don't tell Ron…!"


End file.
